Ballentine Partners LLC Takes $145,000 Position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $145,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TAC. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,139,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 190.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 147,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 96,856 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 281.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 105,562 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in TransAlta during the third quarter valued at $1,812,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Desjardins restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut shares of TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. CIBC downgraded TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts lowered TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $13.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.53. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 36.44 and a beta of 0.84. TransAlta Co. has a fifty-two week low of $5.94 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.0423 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.65%.

TransAlta Profile

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.